We were back at Sonia Rykiel’s famous Left Bank shop for Julie de Libran’s Spring show today. The recently installed bookshelves were covered with black velvet curtains and the runway glittered like wet pavement. Waiters passed around electric blue cocktails and London’s C.A.R. provided the soundtrack, setting the stage for a collection pitched mostly toward evening. Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in addition to its famous brasseries and cafés, also has a thriving club culture, according to the program notes. In De Libran’s first two runway shows for the French brand, the offerings were broader, but this one began and ended with sequins.
In between, the designer touched on the famous Rykiel sweaters, turning out baseball-style tees in a thick crochet that looked handmade and slinky plissé knit dresses—but sadly there were no stripes, the house signature. Note to designers at heritage brands: Don’t ignore the heritage. The show’s loose theme was les oiseaux de nuit—night owl—so there were bird motifs on everything from a poplin camp shirt to silk pajama sets, and more than a few marabou feather stoles. Cotton dresses in a swallow print that looked a lot like camo were the show’s best pieces: danceable, yet also easy to wear during the day. We wouldn’t have minded seeing more of that kind of thing. But before or after dark, easy-to-wear was an imperative for De Libran. The holographic sequin dresses that closed the show were knitted, not embroidered, and the back sides were fine-gauge sweaters, meaning they were as light as can be and as comfortable as a T-shirt, but glam nonetheless.
